Written by Ernie Casanova
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FL— As the night continued, each crowd that came in to support their team got even more passionate and even much louder. As the competition got stronger, so did the presence of anger and joy within the stands. There was much back and forth during each contest tonight, and Charleston showed just how talented and under the radar they might be. LSU did all they could to try and avoid the early upset on the first day of tournament play against a Cougars team ready to battle as they outlasted Charleston by a score of 67-55.
LSU went on an 11-3 run to start the game, as G Ja’vonte Smart and F Emmitt Williams scored the first two buckets on layups for the Tigers. Guard Brevin Galloway for the Cougars hit a three-pointer shortly after for Charleston to score their first points of the game. After Naz Reid hit a jumper and Tremont Waters drained a bucket from long range, it was obvious that Charleston had a tough matchup on their hands.
After a couple of minutes of play, the Cougars were on a mission to stay afloat as they cut the Tigers lead to 20-13. After a bucket by LSU, forward Jarrell Brantley hit one from beyond the arc to make it 22-16, but the next four possessions for LSU consisted of a 9-0 run to give the Tigers a 31-16 lead with 3:26 left in the first half. Charleston went on a motivating 6-0 run in the last minute of the half to cut the lead as much as they can, but the Tigers still closed out the half with a 33-22 lead. It was evident that no matter how hard the Cougars fought, the Tigers were too much to tame.
To start the second half, Smart hit a couple of free throws from the charity line to put the Tigers up 35-22. After Brantley sunk in two free throws of his own shortly after, LSU scored 5 unanswered points in the next 41 seconds to pull away yet again. On the next series for Charleston, Zep Jasper hit a three-pointer for the Cougars, only for LSU guard Skylar Mays to connect on one of his own moments after. It was nothing but momentum swings for each team as they kept hitting shots, but the Tigers prevented the Cougars from doing too much and getting any closer on the scoreboard.
Brantley was on fire for the Cougars, scoring seven points in the first seven minutes of the second half. On the other hand, LSU was firing from all cylinders as they had eight players score four points or more in the first 25 minutes of the game. Charleston gave their fans a great game against a Tigers team that is ranked #19th in the country, but it was nowhere near the upset people would have wanted to experience. As the clock hit the 7:00 mark, Charleston had just cut their deficit to 10 points. It was 55-45, and a quick turnover forced by the Tigers led to a layup by Mays which defined every comeback the Cougars attempted to make. LSU closed out the half strong and came away with the victory to advance.
Williams led the Tigers with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Mays added 12 points of his own. Behind them was a committee of points as multiple players contributed, as Waters led the pack with eight points to go with 11 assists.
Brantley shined for the Cougars, dropping 26 points and notching nine rebounds although he could’ve used some assistance. Out of the seven players that scored for the Cougars, Galloway was the only who eclipsed 10 points after Brantley with 11 on 4-11 shooting.
The Tigers will now take on the winner of Florida State vs UAB on Friday at 4:30PM ET, while Charleston will take on the loser of that matchup after at 7:00PM ET.
